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United Splitting up Families (Basic Economy ticket)

United Splitting up Families (Basic Economy ticket)

Old Aug 29, 2018, 6:47 pm
  #181  
 
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I think that the OP's sister in law learned a nice lesson: you can shame a passenger with an aisle seat to take a middle seat just because there are kids involved. Next trip, she will repeat this.
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Old Aug 29, 2018, 7:32 pm
  #182  
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Originally Posted by DenverBrian
Sadly, red X's aren't enough. ...
If people can't tell the difference between a red X that means NO and a blue checkmark that means YES, they are simply too stupid to fly and need to stay home....or fly Spirit. Seriously, it is already clear enough and people should not be rewarded for refusing to acknowledge clear and concise information that was provided to them during the booking process and reiterated during an upsell routine as part of the booking process.
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Old Aug 29, 2018, 8:05 pm
  #183  
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Originally Posted by DenverBrian
Sadly, red X's aren't enough. United really needs to telegraph this to a consumer group that is notorious for lacking good reading comprehension.

Here's one idea. Of course, UA probably doesn't do it this way because it would keep more people from booking BE!
OK, let's see if UA really is monitoring FT

I do like the idea, but it is rather condescending in present form, but I can see it working IF toned down.
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Old Aug 29, 2018, 9:59 pm
  #184  
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Originally Posted by Ragnarok
It says it right there. A red X next to Sit with your group or family.
You are looking at the United site, while the booking in question was made through Expedia, which is much less clear. Someone already posted how it looks on that site; even a seasoned flier might not notice it.

And yes, I can predict the "it's their fault for using Expedia" argument, but ultimately it's the airline that is responsible, and shouldn't sell tickets through Expedia if they don't want passengers to use it.

Originally Posted by Ragnarok
Even outside of the air travel, no seat assignment means you could be sitting away from your group.
Buses; subway, train, ferry, open seating movie theater; there is simply no excuse!
Not at all. On other public transportation and performance venues, no seat assignment means you go in and sit wherever you want (in your designated section). Airlines are the only place where "no seat assignment" means "you will have a seat assignment, but not of your choosing".

Originally Posted by dilanesp
I think this is right.

There are children involved. Rules are different in that situation.
Well the rules aren't different, but the way they are implemented is different. If this had involved two adults who wanted to sit together, it's likely that they would have been told "tough luck". But since a child was involved, and UA does not want the potential liability or bad publicity of separating a child from the parent, this was resolved to the family's satisfaction.
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Old Aug 29, 2018, 11:36 pm
  #185  
 
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Originally Posted by cbn42
You are looking at the United site, while the booking in question was made through Expedia, which is much less clear. Someone already posted how it looks on that site; even a seasoned flier might not notice it.

.
I did a mock booking on Expedia (post #20 ) Before entering payment it has a list of amenities that are listed as NOT AVAILABLE and under that is seat selection. Yes the UA site is more in your face but UA cannot control what the mediocre OTAs do with their website.

Their used to be a job known as a travel agent. They still exist I am told and will do airline bookings for a fee. But once a person goes into do it yourself mode then it is up to them to do the work and research of the professional they decide not to hire. My late father could not book tickets on his own (macular degeneration, computer screens even with all the settings for impaired vision were impossible for him to see properly ) so he asked for help from me or paid someone to book the tickets.

I will hate on Basic Economy fares but still think people should look at what they are purchasing as consider whether it is right for them. I
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Old Aug 30, 2018, 8:05 am
  #186  
 
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Originally Posted by Often1
The whole point of BE, other than carriers hoping that you won't purchase it, is that when you do, the carrier fills you in where there are seats available after others have selected.

You are presuming that nobody wants the last row and that is close to correct. But, I would take the last row aisle before an E+ middle.
I would take a different flight. (but I don't travel for work, so I have flexibility around that)
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Old Aug 30, 2018, 8:12 am
  #187  
 
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Originally Posted by DenverBrian
Sadly, red X's aren't enough. United really needs to telegraph this to a consumer group that is notorious for lacking good reading comprehension.

Here's one idea. Of course, UA probably doesn't do it this way because it would keep more people from booking BE!


So you mean there's a chance?
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Old Aug 30, 2018, 8:23 am
  #188  
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Originally Posted by cbn42

Not at all. On other public transportation and performance venues, no seat assignment means you go in and sit wherever you want (in your designated section). Airlines are the only place where "no seat assignment" means "you will have a seat assignment, but not of your choosing".
Maybe the they fly Southwest.

Originally Posted by seenitall

So you mean there's a chance?
Sure, and there's a chance that UA will order 747-8
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Old Aug 30, 2018, 8:50 am
  #189  
 
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Originally Posted by DELee
He was with his wife and kid further up front.

David
No, he wasn't. He was upgraded and ended up not sitting with his wife and kid. So the simplest - and most considerate - solution would have been for him to offer his seat to the displaced passenger and take the middle seat.

He said he offered at the gate and the GA said no, but they could have executed the swap on the plane.
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Old Aug 30, 2018, 9:49 am
  #190  
 
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Agreeing with several others: I think the airlines should take care of it programatically during the reservation. If any of the passengers on the reservation are below a designated age, the fee for choosing a seat should automatically be added and the purchase should HAVE to select seats before the reservation is complete.

Now, how to handle it through Expedia will be more complicated but if it cannot be done while the reservation is being made, perhaps a program can be in place to evaluate those types of reservations after they have been made. Send an email requiring confirmation that they need to pay $ to book seats together. It's not really an issue of forcing them to pay for an option to book "a seat" but the option of booking "multiple seats together."

Last edited by vbnet; Aug 30, 2018 at 10:05 am
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Old Aug 30, 2018, 9:55 am
  #191  
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Originally Posted by vbnet
If any of the passengers on the reservation are below a designated age, the fee for choosing a seat should automatically be added and the purchase should HAVE to select seats before the reservation is complete.
And a thread, 10x longer than this one, shows up on the board stating that United is discriminating against families with children.
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Old Aug 30, 2018, 10:03 am
  #192  
 
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Originally Posted by vbnet
If any of the passengers on the reservation are below a designated age, the fee for choosing a seat should automatically be added and the purchase should HAVE to select seats before the reservation is complete.
Even simpler solution: ban all pets, children, and carry-on luggage.
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Old Aug 30, 2018, 10:08 am
  #193  
 
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Originally Posted by LTBoston
the GA said no, but they could have
A United employee (GA) explicitly said not to do that, another United employee (FA) fixed it a different way, and the OP (who isn't the one who bought BE) is at fault for not going around the GA's back? Wow.
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Old Aug 30, 2018, 11:40 am
  #194  
 
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Originally Posted by cbn42
It's clear that Flyertalk is mostly savvy travelers who know the rules and expect everyone else to as well. However, many people have no idea what basic economy is, and the airlines and OTAs don't always do a good job of explaining it.

At the end of the day, the airline is going to have to find a way to let the kids sit with at least one parent, because it's too risky not to. I know there is currently no law requiring it, but there was no law against removing Dr. Dao either, and look how well that worked out for Untied. Publicity can be stronger than any law. What if a child gets molested by another passenger while the parents are in another row? What if "my autistic son had a panic attack because Mr. Diamond-Guest refused to let me sit with him" goes viral on social media?

Right now, congress has asked the government to look into the matter. This is basically telling the airlines "this issue is on our radar, fix it before we make you". If they don't, the government could force airlines to keep families together under threat of fines per incident.

To all of you who are saying "it's her fault and she can deal with the consequences", reality doesn't work that way. Most people don't care about the details about fare class and seat selection, but will not stand for kids being separated from their parents. If airlines don't sort this out, DOT will do it for them.

I feel for the man who had to move to a middle seat, and I would have hated to be in his position, but seat assignments are not guaranteed and can be changed by the airline at any time, per the CoC. It's no different from being made to move to another seat due to a FAM, equipment swap, service animal, or any number of other reasons.
Originally Posted by bocastephen
No, actually they are not. Rules are rules - Basic Economy has a fixed set of rules....there are no govt rules about sitting children with their parents in the same cabin. This is vastly different than being asked to move seats for an equipment swap, broken seat, etc.

If parents want to sit with their children, they need to buy fares that allow for this feature, that's it.
This is not an argument you are ever going to win.

1 parent needs to be with a small child. It's not a convenience. It is a necessity and really almost a right.

Which means that if airlines are going to sell tickets without seat assignments, they are going to need to deal wirh this situation.
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Old Aug 30, 2018, 11:45 am
  #195  
 
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Originally Posted by dilanesp
1 parent needs to be with a small child. It's not a convenience. It is a necessity and really almost a right.

Which means that if airlines are going to sell tickets without seat assignments, they are going to need to deal wirh this situation.
A right? Uh, don't think so.

It is only a right if you don't buy basic economy and a parent takes responsibility to ensure they have advance seat assignments together. Parents need to take responsibility for their actions and not do the blame game.
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